Chapter 358: Zhong Bei - Bu Quan, You’re Foolish
Zhong Bei took the paper and looked at it carefully.
“Senior alchemy advisor accompanying the group?”
He saw the key words.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to regular members, so-called “advisors” were undoubtedly non-staff members of an organization.
From this perspective, Bu Quan hadn’t fully joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps yet.
“But this ‘accompanying the group’…”
The more Zhong Bei pondered this phrase, the deeper his brows furrowed.
This phrase was also crucial.
“If Magician Bu Quan travels with the mercenary group, then what’s the difference between that and fully joining?”
Zhong Bei pondered this, feeling gloomy.
As he continued reading, he saw her written salary.
His face immediately betrayed astonishment, and he muttered in disbelief, "What does this mean? Magician Bu Quan's annual salary is only one gold coin?"
A surge of anger welled up in Zhong Bei's heart.
He looked up at the dragonman youngster, his gaze filled with accusation: "Magician Bu Quan is a prodigy favored by the Alchemy Guild! Yet the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps only offers a yearly salary of one gold coin. Isn't this taking advantage of her? Is her gratitude toward the commander being exploited in this way? How can you exploit her value so ruthlessly? Where is your conscience?"
The dragonman youngster remained calm: "Magician Zhong Bei, you’ve misunderstood. We’ve never had any thoughts or actions of exploiting her gratitude."
"In fact, I greatly admire Magician Bu Quan. She is a true magician, possessing a pure magician’s heart, where her curiosity and pursuit of knowledge far surpass worldly wealth."
“Please look further.”
“This is the true compensation we are paying.”
“This remuneration differs from conventional salary.”
“In this contract, the annual salary of 1 gold coin is merely symbolic.”
Mage Zhong Bei shifted his gaze and continued reading.
The paper stated: The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will provide Bu Quan with valuable alchemy knowledge.
The knowledge includes alchemy experiment data, blueprints for alchemy tools, formulas for alchemy potions, and various alchemy techniques.
This alchemy knowledge must be precious and satisfactory to Bu Quan.
If Magician Bu Quan is dissatisfied with the alchemy knowledge at the time of payment, she may request a replacement.
At the end of each year when the annual salary is paid, both parties have the right to revise the contract and negotiate amicably. This includes, but is not limited to, termination of employment, etc.
In addition, Magician Bu Quan has the right to unilaterally terminate the contract at any time. However, when exercising this right, Bu Quan must pay half the value of the salary previously received from the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Compensation will only be accepted in the form of alchemy knowledge.
The specific value of the alchemy knowledge will be determined and appraised by professionals.
Upon reading this, Magician Zhong Bei's brows finally relaxed.
Clearly, the contract between the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps and Bu Quan was drafted with considerable flexibility.
This significantly reduced his aversion and suspicion toward the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Even he had to acknowledge that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps genuinely sought to recruit Bu Quan.
Bu Quan's pursuit of alchemy knowledge over money also aligned well with the values of magicians.
“Spreading this contract would actually enhance Bu Quan's reputation.”
“The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps has handled this quite well, starting with the intention of parting ways amicably!”
“According to the contract, Bu Quan can leave the mercenary group at any time.”
"She only needs to pay half the value of the alchemy knowledge. This is something the Alchemy Guild can fully accommodate. If she doesn't wish to remain in the mercenary group, she can wait until the end of the year, when she receives her annual salary, to negotiate. She can also terminate the contract at any time. In such a case, she would need to compensate for certain losses. The Alchemy Guild can fully assist her in redeeming herself and even use this opportunity to owe her a favor."
Magician Zhong Bei hadn't yet realized the severity of the issue.
In his view, how much alchemy knowledge could the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps possibly provide?
Even if they had arms dealers backing them, how could they compare to the Alchemy Guild of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom?
“There's another option...”
"Since they have to pay annually for alchemy knowledge that satisfies Magician Bu Quan, we can teach Bu Quan many alchemy techniques in advance, making it harder for her to be satisfied."
"Over time, her gratitude toward the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps will fade, and she will gradually come to terms with reality. How much can the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps offer to satisfy her?"
“But this situation doesn't help me at all.”
“I have to nullify this contract, or else I'll be found guilty of neglecting my duty!”
Upon seeing this, Magician Zhong Bei gained a deeper understanding of the true situation.
“So, to resolve this matter, the key lies with Magician Bu Quan.”
"Regarding her, I don't really have any good ideas, so I can only try to persuade her with kind words. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to go all out and expend my resources to make her change her mind.”
Neglecting his duties would have a significant impact on Magician Zhong Bei's assessment.
Zhong Bei glanced at the dragonman youngster again and thought to himself, “I need to negotiate with Bu Quan, but I can’t give up on Long Fu either.”
He forced a smile onto his face.
Before barging in, he never would have imagined that he would smile at the dragonman youngster.
But there was no choice; at this moment, he had to beg them.
Zhong Bei pleaded with the dragonman youngster to lend a hand.
If the dragonman youngster helped him persuade Bu Quan to change her mind, Zhong Bei personally promised to reward him generously.
The dragonman youngster burst into laughter, shook his head immediately, and rejected the request.
“No matter how generous the reward, it couldn't compare to Magician Bu Quan herself.”
Magician Zhong Bei furrowed his brows and said threateningly, “Commander Long Fu, please consider this carefully.”
“You must understand one thing: no matter how complex your background may be, your group's strength pales in comparison to our nation's Alchemy Guild.”
“Magician Bu Quan is so grateful to you; are you really going to take advantage of her?”
"Why not think about it from her perspective? She may be a genius, but she hasn't truly grown yet."
“And the environment suitable for her growth is not your group, but the Alchemy Guild, which has vast knowledge, numerous mentors, and many alchemy predecessors.”
“Forcing her to stay here will only hinder her future.”
“Over time, Magician Bu Quan will come to realize this and may even request to leave, or worse, develop hostility toward you.”
"Rather than risk that, it would be better to let her go voluntarily. In the future, you might gain the friendship of a great alchemist!"
Magician Zhong Bei had a way with words, appealing to the dragonman youngster with reason and emotion.
The dragonman youngster still shook his head.
"Magician Zhong Bei, I must emphasize once more: we are not forcing her to stay, nor are we deceiving her. In fact, we couldn't force or deceive someone like her anyway."
“It's entirely her own strong desire to join us.”
“For such talent, we can't let go just because of external pressure.”
"Put yourself in my shoes. If you were the leader of a mercenary group, would you give in so easily? Would you back down?"
"If I did that, the reputation of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would be ruined. If we have to abandon a talent who actively wants to join us just because of a small threat, how will others view us?"
“Any organization that wants to grow must absorb fresh blood from the outside.”
“Please understand our predicament.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Magician Zhong Bei's expression turned extremely dark.
The dragonman youngster softened his tone and continued:
“However, if Magician Zhong Bei can successfully persuade Bu Quan, we will immediately let go.”
“If this matter spreads, parting ways amicably after meeting would be more beneficial for our mercenary group’s reputation.”
“Magician Zhong Bei, you have already seen the true contents of the contract. When we signed the contract initially, we had already anticipated this kind of scenario."
The dragonman youngster spoke so reasonably that Magician Zhong Bei couldn't help but nod in agreement.
The contents of the contract were easy to verify.
Magician Zhong Bei was highly likely to believe it was true and clearly sensed the dragonman youngster's sincerity.
Realizing he couldn't get the dragonman youngster's help, Magician Zhong Bei also left without hesitation.
He walked quickly.
As a guardian, he naturally knew Bu Quan's exact location.
“The most important thing now is to find Bu Quan and explain the consequences to her.”
“What she's doing is essentially destroying her own future!”
“No matter how grateful she is, it's not worth it to go this far. Sigh, she's still too young."
The dragonman youngster stood at the window, watching the magician leave, and used the alchemy communication device to contact Zi Di: “Has the alchemy data been handed over to Bu Quan?”
Zi Di's voice came through: "This is half of her annual salary paid in advance, and she accepted this arrangement. She is now completely immersed in it, devoting herself entirely to her research."
“Then it's settled,” the dragonman youngster said with a smile.
Moments later, Zhong Bei met with Bu Quan.
After learning the purpose of his visit, Bu Quan remained unmoved: “Magician Zhong Bei, joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was indeed something I voluntarily agreed to after being recruited by Commander Long Fu.”
“Thank you for your analysis and advice, but I made this decision after careful consideration.”
“In the short term, I will not leave the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
“You're being foolish, Magician Bu Quan,” Zhong Bei exclaimed in frustration, "Was my previous analysis incorrect? No matter how you weigh the pros and cons, joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was a mistake."
“This is too detrimental to your future development!”
But Bu Quan shook her head: “I don't see it that way.”
“If life is just about weighing pros and cons, then it's too boring.”
“In my past life, revenge has been my primary life goal.”
“Now that I have successfully avenged myself, it's time to try a new life.”
Zhong Bei continued to plead with her, but Bu Quan grew impatient and took the initiative to send him off: “It's already very late. Magician Zhong Bei, I won't entertain you any longer.”
Zhong Bei walked out of the alchemy workshop's gate, looking up at the afternoon sun still high in the sky, his face pale with disappointment.
After sending off Zhong Bei, Bu Quan plunged into the alchemy laboratory.
She looked at the alchemy documents brought by Zi Di, her eyes sparkling: “I never expected the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to have such advanced alchemy documents!”
She looked at the alchemy documents brought by Zi Di, her eyes sparkling: “I never expected the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps to have such advanced alchemy documents!”